A New Era
by Lloyd Nobu
Summary: In present day, a young boy named Cole was living a life that constantly changed, moving from place to place. But what changes will occur when he finds a marvelous but unnaturally colored stone outside his window but then turns out to be a dragon egg? Will this lead him to a new destiny, in which he must embark on a journey, or will he just stay in school like a good shophmore?


_**A New Era**_

Cole was sitting in his parent's car, heading to a new state, a new home, with new people. His father had recently acquired a job as some kind of surgeon in Kentucky, the horse capital of the world. But he didn't care much for horses, or the state for that matter. But he saw Kentucky as a state full of rednecks and idiots.

"So kids, what do you think of this place so far?" his father asked as they were driving down the highway. Cole's sister, Emma, briefly looked away from her phone and out the window. "It's nice," she said plainly. Their father then switch his gaze to Cole, who was looking out the window as well, "What about you, Cole?" Cole couldn't see anything but hills and some woods in the background, "It's certainly different." Their step-mother, who married their father 10 years ago just a year after their mother died, looked back and smiled, "Come on, kids. This is gonna be good for us." Cole rolled his eyes, remembering the phrase she always said when they moved. Lloyd was a little tired of this women, always looking at everything positively, like nothing could ever go wrong, If only she could see the world like he could, cruel and pointless. "Wake me when we get there," he said as he put his headphones in and fell asleep.

Cole awoke when the car stopped. They were parked in front of a two-story house with a wooden porch that circled the whole house. He looked down the road his house was next to. It was a small neighborhood, nothing like his old suburban home. The only thing he liked was the large backyard in which he could practice sports and go off somewhere quiet because the backyard was joined to the woods. He sighed deeply as he turned to enter the house, with his duffel bag thrown over his shoulder.

The first thing he saw was a small hall in the middle of the house. On the left side of the first floor was the dining room, which was connected to the kitchen. In the far back of the left side was his father's office. On the right side, the closest room was the living room. Next was the first floor bathroom, and in the far back on the right was the door that led to the basement. Cole had requested it for his room, so to make him feel better, his parents gave it to him.

"Thank God, I've needed a restroom since we left," his father said as he urgently rushed into the bathroom. Cole shook his head and dropped his bag next to the stairs that hugged the right side of the hallway. He was walking to the upstairs bathroom when hid sister blocked him off, "I wanted the basement." He looked at her with his normal passive expression. "The older one gets the room," he said as he side stepped around her, heading to the bathroom. Once he was inside, he locked the door, raised the lid, and relieved himself. He then went to the sink to wash his hands.

He looked in the mirror, fixing his hair a bit. His hair was a dark brown and kind of shaggy. His eyes were a dark blue, which could only be described as cobalt blue, which were easily noticeable from afar. The only thing he hated about his appearance was the scar that stretch from his temple to the side of his cheek. Tired of looking at himself, he left the bathroom.

Once he stepped out, he checked out the upstairs area. There are two bedrooms, his sister's and their parent's, next to each other. Next to the bedroom was a room that led up to the attic and across from that room was the bathroom. He walked back down the steps and picked up his bag. He turned around to walk to his room when his dad came out of the bathroom. His dad sighed and looked at Cole, "Hey, so are you going to play baseball for school?" he asked Cole. Cole usually played baseball for the schools he went to, but he wasn't quite sure this year. Everytime he would become friends with the players then he would move. Happened everytime, so this year he might not join.

"I don't know, Dad," he said as he started to walk to his room again. He opened his door and walked down the old concrete steps. Once he reached the bottom the steps, he dropped his bag and checked out the basement. The basement had three rooms to it: a entertainment room, bedroom and bathroom.

The entertainment room had a relatively large television set sitting on top of a entertainment center, a large stereo system, which had speakers that ran through the whole basement, a desk with a computer, a loveseat that was set in the middle of the room, closest to the wall opposite if the television, a tack board with newspaper articles on them, all but one about his baseball "career", and a trophy case full of baseball, soccer and other trophies was set directly next to it, to where it would be the first thing anyone would see when they entered his room. He briefly scowled at the set as he turned toward the bedroom farther back.

Inside the bedroom, there was a bed in the middle of the wall, sticking out the long way with a nightstand to the side. On the other side of the bed, next to the corner was a smaller desk with a sketchpad to the side. In the middle of wall was a large rectangular window, covered with blue drapes. On the wall to the left of his bed was a bookshelf full of books. The wall at the foot of his bed a large dresser with six drawers, which had come with a mirror.

He walked into the bathroom to shower. The bathroom was relatively small, but it had enough room for a tub, sink and toilet. He quickly took a shower, dried off, and slipped on some shorts. He walked into his room and flopped onto the bed as he stared at the ceiling for a while until he drifted off to sleep. About two hours later, he had awoken due to a knock on his door, "Cole, dinner's ready!" his step-mother yelled through the door. He began to stare at the ceiling again as he slowly raised up. He stood and looked into his mirror. He fixed his hair and walked up the steps.

They were all sitting at the table, eating their dinner in silence. Cole looked at his food blankly. He wouldn't consider a plate of spaghetti dinner but at least it was food. He then looked at the chandelier hanging over the middle of the large dining room table. The small glass jewels that hung on it reflected diamond shapes onto the table and the walls. "Are you alright?" His step-mother asked him. He looked at her with the blank expression still on his face, "I'm fine, Helena," he said just as passively. She smiled half-heartedly, "If you're not going to call me Mom, couldn't you at least call me Helen?" she asked him as he twirled his fork in the spaghetti, causing the spaghetti to wrap around and get tangled on the fork. He didn't answer her, he just slurped up the spaghetti on his fork and licked his lips, licking the sauce off of his lips.

His father shook his head slowly and smiled, "Well, I have some good news. You kids start school on Monday." Both Cole and Emma groaned loudly as they threw their heads back. Their father chuckled and took his plate to the kitchen and put it into the dishwasher. Cole did the same as he finished his food. He then left the kitchen and walked down the hall to his room. He walked down the stairs and into his bedroom. He took off his shirt and examined himself in the mirror. The years of playing football and baseball left him with a muscular physique. He didn't have the broad shoulders like an NFL player, but his muscles were certainly noticeable. He then flopped backward onto the bed and turned the lamp off that rested on his nightstand. He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. _And another life begins_, he thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

But he didn't stay asleep long, he awoke at the sound of something hitting his window. He quickly raised up as he look out the window in his bedroom. The rain was hitting window loudly, sounding like rocks against a metal sheet. He looked at the clock that laid in front of the lamp. _3:00, everyone else must be sleeping. And I won't be going back to sleep now, _he thought to himself as he went to the restroom to relieve himself. Upon stepping across the threshold on his way out, he heard something different hit the window. It was louder and deeper, as if someone had kicked it. He looked out the window and saw something flash by. He ran to the window and peered around the corner without opening the window. When he didn't see anything, he concluded to himself that he had imagined it and flopped back onto his bed and rubbed his eyes. He closed his eyes and after half an hour, he fell back to sleep.

_Playing on the ice, Cole slid across the lake that had been frozen over that winter. He was laughing, enjoying the feeling of moving across the ice with ease. He then felt something grab him from under his arms, long hair tickling his face. He was then thrown to the side of the lake and landed in the snow. He turned and saw a beautiful young women standing on the ice. She something but he didn't hear her. The ice cracked and she fell through._

Cole awoke suddenly, sweating and breathing hard as he sat upright. He scowled and looked out the window. The sun was shining through his window in an orange ray, warming him as he took in the light. He got off his bed and walked up stairs. He opened the door and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. He would use his, but he didn't have any towels down stairs, so he thought it'd be easier to use the one upstairs. Everyone else was eating breakfast in the dining room. The smell of bacon, eggs, and biscuits filled his nostrils. He entered the bathroom and locked the door.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, alerting everyone in the dining room. They all stood and headed into the hall to answer the door. When they opened the door, they were greeted by three people. A woman, a man, and a teenage girl around Emma and Cole's age. The woman smiled, "Hi, I'm Tiffany Rowlings, and this is my husband, Andy, and my daughter May. We're your next neighbors and we wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood," she said as she stuck her hand out. Helena shook her hand and smiled, "Well thank you. I'm Helena, and this my husband, Michael, and our daughter, Emma," Emma grinned and waved at May, who did the same.

Behind the Rowlings came another teenager, a little older and taller than May. Tiffany smiled at the boy and turned back around, "And this is our son, Cody." Cody smiled and gave them a "sup" head nod. He was lean, muscular and fit. The body of a perfect football player. "Hey, it's nice to meet you," he said as he shook their hands hands. When he grabbed Emma's hand, she blushed lightly. He noticed and half-smiled at her, causing her to blush deeper. May nudged him with her elbow.

Helena stepped aside, clearing a space in the door way, "Would you like to come in?" she asked them kindly. Andy smiled and took a step inside, "Only if you don't mind." he said as he stepped across the threshold of the house. Michael stepped back, "Not at all. The living room is right in here," he said as he walked into the living room. "But if you need to use the restroom, I suggest you use the upstairs. Our son, Cole, is in the one under the stairs."

Just as he finished, the bathroom door opened and Cole stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He didn't seem to notice anyone other than his family as he walked into the kitchen. They saw him reach into the fridge and pull out a bottle of water. He took a drink and looked into the dining room, which was now empty.

"For God's sake, would you actually eat something?" Helena called to him. He wiped his mouth and closed the refrigerator door. He turned and walked to the living room, "Yeah, after I put some clothes-" he said, but stopped when he saw four new people sitting on the couch in te living room. "...on," he finished as he leaned against the wall. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head, "Well, this is awkward," he chuckled as he took a step back. Emma pulled out her phone and took a picture of him. Cole scowled as he heard the shutter of the phone's camera. He walked into his room and shut the door as Emma laughed. Helena scowled at her as well, "That wasn't necessary, Emma." Emma chuckled as she began poking her phone. "Don't worry, Mom. It's just going on every social website in the world," she said as she smiled brightly. She looked at May, who's face was a mixture of red and pink. Emma smiled and looked back to her phone.

Cole was rummaging through his dresser for some clothes. He put on a pair of boxers, tan cargo shorts, and a black shirt. He was about to close the drawer when something caught his eye. A white corner peered out from his sock drawer. He pulled it out of the drawer and after he realized what it was, he sat on his bed as a tear fell from his watered eyes. In his hand was a photo of his mother, holding a baby in her arms, which he knew was him. Then, his dream came back. The ice cracking, the woman who fell through, everything. He closed his eyes and dropped the picture into the drawer. Wiping away the tear, he put on a pair of no shows and walked upstairs.

When he opened the door, he heard laughter coming from the living room. He walked in casually with his hands in his pockets. Everyone looked at him as he chuckled, "Sorry about earlier, you sorta caught me at a bad time," he said sheepishly. Tiffany smiled and waved her hand in a backward motion, "It's no problem, we were actually talking about you," she said. Lloyd raised an eyebrow as he looked at his family. "Oh really, and what might that be?" he asked in his normal, passive tone. She shrugged and pointed to a plaque on the wall. The plaque was another award for his athletics. He cursed himself for not finding that one and putting it with his stuff. "Oh, that old thing? It's nothing," he said, trying to change the subject.

Helena chuckled as she fixed her posture, "Quit being so modest, Cole. Do you remember why you got that?" Truth be told, he didn't know. He had so many awards that he hated, why would this one be different? He shrugged as he turned to her for an answer. She left the room and walked upstairs, leaving everyone without an answer. They could hear her fumbling upstairs, making Cole's eyes widen as he remembered why he won the award. She came back downstairs with a piece of paper in her hands. She showed him a realistic sketch of a woman holding a child. The drawing matched the picture in his sock drawer.

She held it in her hands as she explained, "You sent this drawing into a competition four years ago. You won two hundred dollars and that plaque," she said as she pointed to the plaque. Cole looked away from the drawing and put on a smile, "Yeah, I remember now," he said. He turned to the Rowlings and smiled, "I'm sorry, I never introduced myself. I'm Cole," he said as he held out his to the father.

He smiled and shook his hand, "Andy, this is my wife, Tiffany," looked looked at the and shook her hand as the the man continued, "And these are our kids, May," he shook her hand and smiled, "And Cody." Cole and Cody shook hands as well, but their grips were harder, "Nice grip. Play sports?" Cody asked him as he let go of his hand. Cole made eye contact with him. His eyes were a dark brown, almost to the point where they were black, but he didn't see anything harmful within them. "Football and baseball," he replied, keeping eye contact. "Positions?"

"Left tackle and shortstop. You?"

"Quarterback and pitcher. Plan on playing?" Cody said with a proud smile. Cole shrugged as he turned around. Helena smiled as she looked at Cole, "How about you show Cody your room?" Cole shrugged and turned to Cody, who stood up and followed Cole toward his room. Emma stood and grabbed May's hand, "And I'll show you my room," she said as she practically dragged her up the stairs.

"And this is my room, have a look around or whatever," he said as he turned on his television and sat on the couch. Cody was staring at the trophy cases and the shelves in room, filled with trophies and other various rewards. "You get the whole basement?" he asked in amazement. Cole turned his head, "Yep, comes with it's own bathroom. Play XBox?" he said as he tossed him a controller. Cody grinned and sat next to him. "I don't think you could handle my skills," he said as he pushed the small **X **in the middle of the controller. Cole smiled and slipped on a headset, "Try me." And then their small rivalry begins.

Emma and May were in Emma's room, not talking about much, just girl stuff. May sat on the bed that possibly took up half of the room. "So, what's the deal with your brother? Does he always seem... upset?" she asked her, having nothing else to talk about. Emma was sitting in a cushioned desk chair, tuning an acoustic guitar. She frowned and put down the guitar, "About ten years ago, Cole and our mother were walking in a park in Minnesota. The park had a large lake that had been frozen over. I'm a little iffy on the details but from what I could get, Mom fell through the ice and she never came back up," she told her glumly, picking the guitar back up and strumming it lightly.

May raised and eyebrow in confusion, "So, Helen isn't you actual mother?" Emma shook her head and played a couple notes from the song _Traveling Soldier_. "But as to answer you question, Cole blames himself for I mother's death. He won't tell us why, he just does. But he doesn't like sympathy or pity, so pretend you know nothing." May fell backwards to where she was sprawled out on bed. "That's awful. So what about his body?" One of the strings on Emma's guitar snapped startling May, "What do you mean 'his body'?" she asked with an expression of disgust and awkwardness. May chuckled as her face turned red, "Well, my brother's been playing sports since he was eight, and he doesn't have the physique Cole does." The image of Cole now stuck her mind, May blushed a deeper red. Emma laughed at May's embarrassment, so hard her sides began to hurt and her lungs screamed for air. May frowned and Emma stopped laughing, "Sorry, but you should seen the look on your face. You looked like a tomato," she said with a smile. May groaned, but smiled weakly. Emma shook her head and answered simply, "Let's just say, his exercises are a bit extreme." May cocked her head to the side and smiled, "How extreme?" Emma smiled and walked over to the door, "I'll show you," she said as she left the room.

Cody went into Cole's room after their game and saw a pull-up bar hanging on the wall next to the door. Cole entered the room and looked at the bar as well. Cody walked over to the bar, which was high enough to where they would have to jump to reach it. Cody jumped and grabbed the bar, "How many do you think I can do?" Cole shrugged and walked to the foot of his bed. "However many pull-ups you do, I'll do twice as many push-ups of my choosing." Cody raised one of eyebrows in confusion. "I have my own way of doing push-ups," he answered. Cody attempted a shrug and began. They heard the door to the attic opened and two sets of footsteps. Cole stood and walked into the other room to see who was about to turn around the corner. When he saw Emma, he instantly groaned and crossed his arms, "What are you doing down here?" Emma crossed her arms as well, "Well, May was wondering how you got such an amazing body and-" She was cut off when May pushed Emma into the other room where Cody was doing pull-ups. "She said you had an extreme work out and I want to see it," she said, a little coldly. Cole's eyes slightly widened, surprised by her sudden aggressiveness, but he smiled and lead get into the room. "You'll see once your brother's done," he said as he sat on his bed.

Cody's arms were beginning to tire and he was beginning to sweat. Finally, he let go of the bar and began to pant. "Forty-three pull-ups. Now give me some of those special push-ups you talking about," he said as he took a seat next to Emma. Cole smiled and walked into the other room. He stood in between the television and the couch. Everyone else sat on the couch and waited patiently. He looked at Cody and asked, "So, I have to do eighty-six of 'em?" Cody nodded and leaned back. Emma was smiling widely as she knew that they would find his methods rather impossible. Cole bit his lip and pulled his shirt off, throwing it to Emma. Cody was confused but also intrigued, "Why did you take your shirt off?" he inquired. Cole bent his legs and placed his palms on the ground. "So that it doesn't get in the way," he answered with a smile and lifted his feet off the ground to where he was standing on his hands.

He inhaled and exhaled loudly and lowered himself to the ground, where he stopped when his nose touched the floor. He pushed himself back up to where his arms were straight and his feet pointed upward. He lowered himself back down and repeated the process. Cody was laughing as he stared in amazement, "That is awesome! You've got to teach me that!" he said full of vigor. Cole smiled and continued. After he was done, he slowly placed his feet on the ground and stood up straight, receiving applause from his audience.

He grabbed his shirt off the back of the couch and put it on. Just then, they heard vibrations coming from May. May reached into her pocket and pulled out a phone. "Mom says we need to go. Bye guys. See you at school," she said as she got off the couch and headed upstairs. Cody shrugged and followed her, but he stopped midway up the stairs. He turned back around and leaned against the railing. "Baseball tryouts are next week. I'll see you there, right?" Cole nodded and walked over to him. He stuck his hand out to him, "I'd say that's a deal." Cody smiled and grabbed his arm. "Now get out of my room," he said with a scowl. Cody released his arm and walked slowly upstairs. Cole looked over at his sister and gestured for her to leave as well. She scowled and left, slamming the door. He smiled and walked into his bedroom.

He unplugged his phone from the wall, when something outside caught his eye. He saw a round looking object laying in the dirt. He walked over to his window and opened it, the slight breeze making his hair sway. He reached out for the object, which he could only describe as a rock, but it was different. It was teal blue, the brighter blue than his eyes, and it had long, thin black veins streaking across the surface. He grabbed the stone and brushed the dirt off with his hands. He looked it over and tapped on it. But to his surprise, a low-tone echoed from it, spreading the note through the basement.

He placed the stone on his bed and ran his hand along it, feeling how unnaturally smooth it was. He thought to himself that it had to be handmade, there's no way that something this smooth and beautiful could be formed in nature. He placed it under his pillow and reluctantly left the room and walked upstairs.

He walked into the kitchen and grabbed in apple while his parents were standing at the door. He took a bite of his apple, "Where are you guys going?" he asked as he leaned against against the dining room entrance frame. Helena opened the door and turned, "We have to get you kids supplies for school. Come with us?" Cole took another bite and walked past them, which they could only assume as Cole's way of saying "sure".

It had been four hours before they returned home, in which case it was the early afternoon and Cole was incredibly bored. For about half an hour he investigated the stone then he did some more exercises. He left his house and began to walk down the road. He took note of the addresses and the amount of vehicles in the driveways. Occasionally he could see inside the houses and he couldn't count how many people he had seen playing video games.

About ten minutes later, he came across a large group of kids in a baseball field. He had no idea how far he had walked or even if he had walked around any corners. The only thing on his mind was the strange stone. He knew it wasn't there yesterday, so how did it get there? He abandoned the thought and walked toward the kids on the field.

"The teams are uneven. Where the hell is Matt?" Cole heard one of them say. He didn't know any of them, but he did recognize one of the voices. "Calm down, guys. We can deal with one less player." The voice belonged to Cody, who seemed to be the leader of the group. Cole walked over to the dugout and leaned against it, waiting for them to notice him.

After a while of arguing, one of the boys noticed him. He was now sitting in the dirt with a headphone in his right ear. "Hey!" the boy shouted, causing everyone to turn around and look at Cole. He took out his headphone and placed it in his pocket, "Well, 'bout time someone noticed," he said as he stood and walked over to them, hands in his pockets. "I heard about your predicament. So, mind if I join?" he said looking at Cody. Cody looked at the group and walked over to Cole. "Alright then, you're on my team," he said as he patted him on the back. He walked over to the dugout and emptied his pockets. The others did the same and split into teams.

Cody and Cole were in the dugout as one of their teammates was up at bat. Cody nudged Cole and pointed to the pitcher, "That's Josh, he's probably the fastest pitcher in our school, pitching at 96 miles per hour. So you may want to duck the ball," he said with chuckle. Cole grabbed a bat and stepped out of the dugout, "My swing's about twice as fast," he said as to reassure him. Cody shrugged and walked backward with a "whatever" look on his face. Cole stepped to the plate and placed his feet to the left side of the base. First and third base had a teammate on them, each with a skeptical face as they looked at Cole readied himself and stared at the pitcher. The pitcher stood straight and tall, preparing the pitch. The ball left his hand but Cole did nothing. They watched the ball fly past him as the catcher yelled, "Strike one!" But while everyone else watched the ball, he focused on the pitcher.

The pitcher laughed and readied himself again. Cole watched carefully as the pitcher swung his arm. After the ball was about four inches from the pitchers hand, he swung the bat as hard as he could. The ball made contact, making a loud _crack_ as it hit the bat. The ball was airborne and heading far. Cole dropped the bat and ran, along with the others on base. The ball kept going, eventually making it outside of the field.

Cole stopped at second base and shrugged, realizing that the game was now over. He walked back to the group, but they were all looking toward where the ball had landed. He turned around and saw that it had landed in someone's yard. Cole began walking to the fence when Cody placed his hand on his shoulder. Cole stopped and turned his head. "You don't want to go in there," he said, turning his gaze to Cole. "Why not? Is it haunted or something?" he asked with a hint if annoyance in his voice. Cody shook his head and dropped his hand to his side, "Danny 'Skull Crusher' McCray lives there. He's the school bully. Rumor has it that while he was in juve, he crushed another kids skull in with his bare hands." Cole looked at Cody, who had the flames of fear raging in his eyes.

Cole massaged his temple and turned around, walking back to the dugout. "Then I'll get it from him in school tomorrow," Cole said with a smile as he picked up his belongings. The sun was setting and half the group had left. Cody and Cole were leaning against the dugout, talking about classes when a silver Camaro with racing stripes pulled into the the fields parking lot. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow," Cody said as he walked off. Cole slowly waved as he began his walk home.

Cole made it to the end of his driveway when he heard the door open to the house next door. May was holding a large black trash bag, possibly filled with trash Cole thought. She dropped it on the porch heavily and it landed with a loud thud. Cole walked over to her smiling at her feeble attempts to pick the bag back up. "Need help?" She jumped slightly with a gasp. He looked at the bag, then to her, then to the bag, and then back to her with a smile.

She looked at him and slightly raused her hands in failure, "Would you kindly?" He walked over to the bag and firmly grasped it with both hands. He threw over his shoulders with a reckless swing, almost hitting May. She exclaimed as the bag swung through the air but then began to giggle, "You're pretty strong aren't you?" Cole shrugged and walked to the end of their driveway to where the trash cans were, "Could be stronger," he said with a little to no strain in his voice as he placed the bag in the can.

May nodded her head and crossed her arms, "Wow, your stepmother's right; you are too modest." He smiled at the compliment. But then he realized something that she said, "How'd you know she was my stepmother?" Dawn shrugged, "Emma told me how your mother died. Sorry, shouldn't have brought it up." Cole shook his head and sat on the porch, "Hmph, I'm the one who brought it up, not you." She sat down next to him, but a little wary as to not sit too close to him. "So, what do you think of this place?" she asked him, eager to change the subject. He looked straight up into the dark sky, littered with stars and gray clouds. "You'll have to give me more time to answer that," he said as he closed his eyes and layer down on the porch. She also lied down and turned her gaze toward the sky, "You like to stargaze, huh?" she asked as she looked at him, chestnut eyes gleaming in the moonlight. He briefly looked at her and closed his eyes, "Takes my mind of things."

He stood up and offered her a hand, which she willingly took, and pulled herself up. "It's getting late. We should probably get some sleep," he said as he stepped off the porch reluctantly. She lowered her head and stepped back toward the door. Cole slowly walked to his house while looking to her. "Good night," he said as he waved to her. She waved and entered her house, disappearing behind the closing door. He opened the door to his house, but didn't enter yet. He looked into one of the windows on the side of the house, figuring that one of them had to be hers.

He entered the house after he saw nothing. He walked down to his room and locked the bedroom door. He ran over to the bed and grabbed the large stone stone that was still under his pillow. He couldn't get over how beautiful and rare it was. _Could probably get something from it on EBay, but I may just keep it, _he thought as he ran his palms along it, caressing the smooth sides of the stone. He left the stone on his bed and walked into the bathroom.

He was urinating when he heard a crack come from his room, but shrugged it off and finished. He walked into his room and threw his shirt on the floor and placed the stone on it. He lied his head on his pillow and turned his body to where he was laying on his stomach with his head turned to the side. He continued to stare at the stone, admiring it's large, oval-like shape and its beautiful color. He found it weird that he considered the stone beautiful, boys aren't supposed be thinking that way about rocks. But yet he stared and mentally photographed the stone as he fell asleep.

He awoke frightfully in the middle of the night, cold sweat trickling down his forehead and his chest. He crawled out from under the covers and sat pensively on the side of his bed. _It will never go away, will it? _he thought to himself, remembering the dream he had for the last ten years. He stood and walked slowly into the bathroom, cautious as to not hit anything. He turned on the cold water in his sink and splashed some of it on his face, waking him up to a new extent.

_Crackle._ He straightened and tensed as he heard the noise. He slowly paced toward his room where the noise originated. He grabbed a bat that leans against the wall next to the door. He walked over to his bed and slowly leaned over to look under the bed. He quickly looked under with bat in hand, but the only thing under his bed was the stone. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. _I must be imagining things,_ he thought to himself when he saw the stone wobble. He quickly grasped the egg and placed the stone on his bed. He backed away cautiously but never took his eyes off of the stone.

He was beginning to get scared when it wobbled ferociously and crackled louder. He took one more step back when the stone exploded with a loud _crk! _Cole hadn't realized he had closed his eyes until he couldn't see anything. When he opened his eyes, he instantly looked at the stone, but the only thing there was a cat-sized lizard. Cole walked cautiously toward the lizard which chirped and gazed back at him. He tilted his head to the side, which the lizard mimicked. To the other side, same thing.

The lizard's scales matched the same color as the stone it had come, which he concluded was an egg. He leaned in closer, as it did the same. It then chirped happily, but it sounded lime a chirp mixed with a growl. He waved at the lizard, in which chirped again. He stopped and said plainly to himself, "Weird."


End file.
